By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s economic growth slowed in the third quarter of 2022, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.
The NBS said between July and September 2022, the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country grew by 2.25 per cent year-on-year, the slowest growth since the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the NBS, the slow growth is attributable to the base effects of the recession and the challenging economic conditions that have impeded productive activities.
The Q3 2022 growth rate decreased by 1.78 per cent points from the 4.03 per cent growth rate recorded in Q3 2021 and 1.29 per cent points relative to 3.54 per cent in Q2 2022.
The oil sector declined by 22.67 per cent (year-on-year) as of Q3 2022, indicating a decrease of 11.94 per cent points relative to the rate recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
On the other hand, the non-oil sector grew by 4.27 per cent in real terms during the reference quarter (Q3 2022). This rate was lower by 1.18 per cent points compared to the rate recorded same quarter of 2021 and 0.50 per cent points lower than the second quarter of 2022.
Growth in the non-oil sector was driven mainly by Information and Communication (Telecommunication), Trade, Transportation (Road Transport), Financial and Insurance (Financial Institutions), Agriculture (Crop Production). and Real Estate, accounting for positive GDP growth.
In terms of contribution to GDP, the non-oil sector contributed 94.34 per cent to the total GDP, an increase from 93.67 per cent recorded in the previous sector, while the oil sector contributed 5.66 per cent to the aggregate real GDP for the period.
Modupe Gbadeyanka